A Critical Matter - German Investments in the Mining Sector

This paper is aimed at informing German civil society groups about the role of German financial institutions in supporting the acquisition of raw materials – primarily from overseas – and the social and environmental impacts of doing so.

It builds on information provided by the database and website “From Money to Metal”, jointly hosted by the Heinrich Böll Foundation and Mines and Communities. The paper identifies German bank loans and debt financing for mining companies; the related issuance of corporate and convertible bonds; and the direct purchase of equity (stocks and shares) in mining outfits by German banks, brokerages, and others. It points out the risks taken – financially, environmentally, and socially.

Table of contents:

A Critical Matter – Introduction

Part One: The European Union’s raw materials policy

Germany’s own approach to raw materials “criticality”

Cross-country collaboration

Defining true costs

China’s syndromes

Part Two: What Germany is looking for – and where from

Part Three: Investment routes

Part Four: Mining-related finance in 2014 and beyond

Part Five: A wealth of speculation – and fraud

Damaging derivatives

The role of Deutsche Bank

Part Six: More dodgy deals

a) ETFs and CIFs

b) Hedge funds – the German position

c) Private equity funds

d) Equities and bonds

Part Seven: Varieties of jeopardy

Defining criticality – a suspect exercise

Is any country “safe”?

Canada

South African strife

Russia and sanctions

The rest of the world

Content

Part Eight: The rules do not work

International sign-ons

Indigenous Peoples and “supply risk”

State pension and sovereign wealth funds

Part Nine: In the breach

Some dubious mining projects backed by German financial institutions

KfW IPEX-Bank

KFW-DEG

Part Ten: Germany’s Raw Materials Partnerships – Are they worth the paper they are written on?